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It is the development of a theme that makes a memoir, even of ordinary topics, come through as interesting and even memorable. The topic is the bare bones of what you say in your book, and the theme is your “take” on what you say. The theme is necessarily wispy and even open to various interpretations, while your topic is not. Development of a theme vs development of a topic An example of a memoir topic could be one’s divorce after years of marriage. This will require dates and facts—often in chronological order. A topic is necessarily denotative. A legal (more…)

Kathy Pooler is no stranger on these pages. From her informative blog post for The Memoir Network, “8 Lessons I Learned On My Memoir Writer’s Journey,” to her generous sharing on the interview I did with her for Month One of the Memoir Authority, she has shown herself to be a thoughtful leader in the memoir field. Her memoir Ever Faithful to His Lead: My Journey Away From Emotional Abuse, was published in July 2014, and we are so pleased to have been included in her virtual book tour. For the first part of this post, click here. Below is “Memoir Writers Are Master Sculptors, Part 2.” Be sure you’ve read both. Today’s post is a veritable compendium of memoir-writing resources!–DL —

Memoir Writers Are Master Sculptors, Part 2:

7 Techniques for Finding Your Story Structure

In Part 1, we discussed how memoir writers are like sculptors. Today, I will share a few techniques I learned and used to find the story structure for my memoir, Ever Faithful to His Lead: My Journey Away From Emotional Abuse.

(more…)

Kathy Pooler is no stranger on these pages. From her informative blog post for The Memoir Network, from her post “8 Lessons I Learned On My Memoir Writer’s Journey,” to her generous sharing in the interview I conducted with her for My Memoir Education, she has shown herself to be a thoughtful leader in the memoir field. Her memoir Ever Faithful to His Lead: My Journey Away From Emotional Abuse, was published in July 2014, and we are so pleased to have been included in her virtual book tour. Today’s post, Memoir Writers are Master Sculptors, Part 1, is followed by Part Two. (more…)
“I just don’t feel motivated to write,” you say struggling with writing discipline . “I want to get my book written and out in the world but I’m just not motivated. I won’t write today.” Alternatively, what if you don’t feel like writing but you sat down at your computer and reread some pages of your memoir? You might notice a few changes you could make or you might come up with how to extend a scene. These are two examples of writing with motivation or with discipline. Which approach will have you write through to the end of your (more…)
Wanting to write a meaningful memoir is a start, but it is not enough. You must know how to write such a story. On the Third Thursday of every month (at 1 PM/ET, 12 CT, 11 MT, 10 PT), you can participate in a live memoir-writing workshop on ZOOM. As I write this, the next Gathering of Writers is Thursday, July 17, 2025. While this call is for my Substack paid members, you can easily join our ranks and benefit from the workshop group’s support by clicking the icon below. I consider the in-person exchange to be the gold currency (more…)
Why Your Memoir Characters Might Not Be Interesting! In fiction, the people who appear on your pages and play a role in the story you are narrating are called characters. As a memoirist, you must take memoir characters as seriously as a fiction writer does. As with fiction characters so too with memoir characters Vivid character development is as crucial in memoir writing as in fiction writing. In fiction, characters must be developed into rounded figures that the reader will sympathize with and relate to. (No stick figures allowed!) This calls for details and exactness in depiction as well as (more…)
“What do you think of my website and my author blog?” It’s one of the questions I hear the most from authors, whether they write memoirs or mysteries. I wish that my answer each and every time was, “It’s fantastic!” . . . but it isn’t. And more often than not, the problem is with the site’s author blog. Defining author blog But let’s pause to distinguish between “blog” and “website,” because many people use them interchangeably. When I say “blog,” I’m referring to a collection of online articles you add to your site on a regular basis in a (more…)

 

Writing a memoir requires a lot of time and energy—but you can do it. You can succeed in writing a memoir. Many people just like you have succeeded in doing so already. Today I am offering you my three pillars of memoir writing.

I want to share a system with you for getting started on writing a memoir. I call it the three pillars of memoir writing.

(more…)
Congratulations to Denise Brown on the publication of her book, Transcending Darkness: A Memoir of Abuse and Grace. I recently had the opportunity to interview Denise about her experience writing her book on surviving childhood abuse.  I am pleased to share her experience. To read Part 2, click here. To read Part 3, click here.—DL Denis Ledoux: Can you tell our readers what your book is about and why you were impelled to write it? What was driving you to spend the time, energy and money to get this book out into the world? Denise Brown: Transcending Darkness is a (more…)
development of theme

A memoir is elevated by its theme not by its topic.

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It is the development of a theme that makes a memoir, even of ordinary topics, come through as interesting and even memorable. The topic is the bare bones of what you say in your book, and the theme is your “take” on what you say. The theme is necessarily wispy and even open to various […]

The Memoir Network

Memoir Writers Are Masters Sculptors, Part 2

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7 Techniques for Finding Your Story Structure In Part 1, we discussed how memoir writers are like sculptors. Today, I will share a few techniques I learned and used to find the story structure for my memoir, Ever Faithful to His Lead: My Journey Away From Emotional Abuse. (more…)

The Memoir Network

Memoir Writers are Master Sculptors, Part 1

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As authors, we are artists and we create masterpieces through our words. Here’s how as memoir writers are master sculptors. With the recent launch her first memoir, Ever Faithful to His Lead: My Journey Away From Emotional Abuse, Kathy Pooler is reminded that the process of envisioning, carving, chiseling and shaping our book can be […]

set push goals

“Push Goals”… hit your writing out of the park!

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Wanting to write a meaningful memoir is a start, but it is not enough. You must know how to write such a story. On the Third Thursday of every month (at 1 PM/ET, 12 CT, 11 MT, 10 PT), you can participate in a live memoir-writing workshop on ZOOM. As I write this, the next […]

better author blog

3 Tips for a Better Author Blog

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“What do you think of my website and my author blog?” It’s one of the questions I hear the most from authors, whether they write memoirs or mysteries. I wish that my answer each and every time was, “It’s fantastic!” . . . but it isn’t. And more often than not, the problem is with […]

pillars of memoir writing

Three Pillars of Memoir Writing

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  Writing a memoir requires a lot of time and energy—but you can do it. You can succeed in writing a memoir. Many people just like you have succeeded in doing so already. Today I am offering you my three pillars of memoir writing. I want to share a system with you for getting started […]

surviving childhood abuse

Surviving Childhood Abuse: A Writer’s Experience

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Congratulations to Denise Brown on the publication of her book, Transcending Darkness: A Memoir of Abuse and Grace. I recently had the opportunity to interview Denise about her experience writing her book on surviving childhood abuse.  I am pleased to share her experience. To read Part 2, click here. To read Part 3, click here.—DL […]